Any non-native fluent spanish speakers?

[RUc10]

I would like to be speaking spanish fluently before I get into medical school. I was learning at a pretty fast pace last year because I was around people that spoke spanish a lot but since I haven't been in that environment in a while everything is starting to fade away. I'm not sure whether I should just get my old spanish book from freshman year and go through every page and listen to everything that came with it or if I should get a program that is well known such as Rosetta Stone or something like that. My schedule is pretty packed for the next 3 semesters so I won't be able to take the intermediate Spanish course for a while and by that time I plan to be Studying Abroad in a Spanish speaking country anwyay... plus, how many people really take classes and come out fluent?

So has anybody learned Spanish when they've been a bit older and if so, how'd you do it?

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[ManualEvac]

So has anybody learned spanish when they've been a bit older and if so, how'd you do it?

Si. I am one of those hilariously out of place spanish-talking gringos you may hear around the hospitals and clinics of urban America.

Here's how you do it as an adult...

1) Skip Rosetta Stone (a waste of $200), get a basic $25-30 book with CD and learn the very basics while listening to native pronunciation. I like the Teach Yourself series best.

2) Get a tutor or do an immersion class in Mexico (or the poor part of any US metropolis). Mexican spanish is the most practical in medical settings, although not very highly regarded among international spanish speakers.

3) Get a job or volunteer in a medical settings with lots of spanish-speaking patients and at least one native speaker who works there. Talk to this person in spanish as much as possible, ask questions, clarify translations, and have a medical spanish book on hand while carefully beginning to punch up your work with patients with spanglish.

4) Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Don't worry...you will be laughed at openly and often , but your efforts are appreciated by staff and patients, and will probably serve you pretty well within 6 months of solid practice.

PS - The best part of learning a language is finding out how badly and inaccurately people's relatives have been translating for you in the past. You will probably save someone's life someday by getting and giving info first hand, especially in spanish. Buena suerte.

 

[Ashers]

Si. I am one of those hilariously out of place spanish-talking gringos you may hear around the hospitals and clinics of urban America.

Here's how you do it as an adult...

1) Skip Rosetta Stone (a waste of $200), get a basic $25-30 book with CD and learn the very basics while listening to native pronunciation. I like the Teach Yourself series best.

2) Get a tutor or do an immersion class in Mexico (or the poor part of any US metropolis). Mexican spanish is the most practical in medical settings, although not very highly regarded among international spanish speakers.

3) Get a job or volunteer in a medical settings with lots of spanish-speaking patients and at least one native speaker who works there. Talk to this person in spanish as much as possible, ask questions, clarify translations, and have a medical spanish book on hand while carefully beginning to punch up your work with patients with spanglish.

4) Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Don't worry...you will be laughed at openly and often , but your efforts are appreciated by staff and patients, and will probably serve you pretty well within 6 months of solid practice.

PS - The best part of learning a language is finding out how badly and inaccurately people's relatives have been translating for you in the past. You will probably save someone's life someday by getting and giving info first hand, especially in spanish. Buena suerte.

I've found even some medical translators take liberties. I called one on it once since it wasn't close to what I wanted conveyed.

I've never been laughed at for speaking Spanish. Most people appreciate even lame attempts.

 

[sunsfan]

Please don't waste your money with Rosetta Stone.
If you must try such programs, try Pimsleur instead. It does a good job of training you to construct your own sentences, albeit simple ones, using vocabulary that you acquire little by little.
Don't expect a miracle program, but it's a lot better than Rosetta Stone IMO.

 

[RUc10]

Si. I am one of those hilariously out of place spanish-talking gringos you may hear around the hospitals and clinics of urban America.

Here's how you do it as an adult...

1) Skip Rosetta Stone (a waste of $200), get a basic $25-30 book with CD and learn the very basics while listening to native pronunciation. I like the Teach Yourself series best.

2) Get a tutor or do an immersion class in Mexico (or the poor part of any US metropolis). Mexican spanish is the most practical in medical settings, although not very highly regarded among international spanish speakers.

3) Get a job or volunteer in a medical settings with lots of spanish-speaking patients and at least one native speaker who works there. Talk to this person in spanish as much as possible, ask questions, clarify translations, and have a medical spanish book on hand while carefully beginning to punch up your work with patients with spanglish.

4) Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Don't worry...you will be laughed at openly and often , but your efforts are appreciated by staff and patients, and will probably serve you pretty well within 6 months of solid practice.

PS - The best part of learning a language is finding out how badly and inaccurately people's relatives have been translating for you in the past. You will probably save someone's life someday by getting and giving info first hand, especially in spanish. Buena suerte.

Thanks. I've done a little translating myself for nurses. Though this is the U.S. it is quite annoying when I see higher ranked people in the hospital setting who have absolutely no clue what a patient is saying or how to relay a simple message such as asking the patient to sit up or if they need help getting to the bathroom.

I guess I'll stick with the book I was using freshman year. It came with a whole bunch of CD's and there was a pretty in depth section on words related to illness or health.

Is there a better country to study abroad in to learn Spanish? Right now I was thinking either Mexico or Costa Rica but if there's another country that will make it easier I'll go there. I know the native language in Brazil is portugese but are there many spanish speaking people there? If I could go to brazil for a semester it will be the best couple of months of my life 😀

 

[RUc10]

Please don't waste your money with Rosetta Stone.
If you must try such programs, try Pimsleur instead. It does a good job of training you to construct your own sentences, albeit simple ones, using vocabulary that you acquire little by little.
Don't expect a miracle program, but it's a lot better than Rosetta Stone IMO.

I've heard of Pimsleur and it's supposed to be good. Right now the best ratings I've seen are for Learning Spanish Like Crazy, which supposedly takes a similar approach to Pimsleur.

 

[metalhead1023]

Do you want to get into Ponce?

 

[WinterLights]

Night Classes at community colleges tend to be pretty effective. I speak a fair share of spanish but I would have to say that I am not fond of the language.

 

[Caesar]

Night Classes at community colleges tend to be pretty effective. I speak a fair share of spanish but I would have to say that I am not fond of the language.

I have hated Spanish forever. I am starting it this year and will have 2 sems Intro, 2 Intermediate, and 1 advanced, by the time I graduate.

I know German and Latin and very very very little french, but I just feel learning spanish is something I should do, regardless of whether I want to or not. I'm hoping it pays off for me.

 

[WinterLights]

I have hated Spanish forever. I am starting it this year and will have 2 sems Intro, 2 Intermediate, and 1 advanced, by the time I graduate.

I know German and Latin and very very very little french, but I just feel learning spanish is something I should do, regardless of whether I want to or not. I'm hoping it pays off for me.

Haha I certainly understand that. I can for the most part carry on basic conversations in spanish, but not much more than that. I have no used it in a while and so I've began to forget a few words here and there. I plan on reading some spanish texts during medical school.

 

[175961]

dont spend money on rosetta stone.......move to mexico

 

[HumidBeing]

I enjoy Spanish. Some of the helpful, free things I've used are listening to Spanish radio stations, reading Spanish news online, and listening to Spanish news broadcasts online.

 

[katieo]

I can't imagine become really fluent without total immersion. It's one thing to sit in a class practicing with other americans, it's a completely different thing to speak with a native speaker who doesn't speak english.

I lived in Argentina for a while and became fluent... but after 4 years I can barely understand people I hear on the street. Goes quick.

 

[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

Yes, I sometimes have a tough time understanding Spanish spoken in certain dialects, for me Argentine, S. Mexico, Castillian, Ecuadorian are easiest, Puerto Rico, N. Mexico are tougher.

Suggestions for odds & ends, just to keep in practice - volunteer where some people (patients/staff) speak spanish, try to learn a few new words each shift/day.

-whenever you're in a place where the staff speak spanish, answer them in spanish. I've asked people "do you speak spanish" & then addressed them in spanish if they do, have never, ever had anyone offended by this question.

 

[URHere]

Is there a better country to study abroad in to learn Spanish? Right now I was thinking either Mexico or Costa Rica but if there's another country that will make it easier I'll go there. I know the native language in Brazil is portugese but are there many spanish speaking people there? If I could go to brazil for a semester it will be the best couple of months of my life 😀

I'm not sure exactly how the situation is in Brazil, but I do know that in Portugal, many people can speak spanish but hate doing it. There is a bit of bad blood between those of portuguese descent and those of spanish decent, so I wouldn't expect too much exposure to spanish in Brazil.

Also, while portuguese is similar to spanish in some ways, it is really not nearly as similar as most people think. Some verb bases are the same, but that's really about it, and it may really confuse you if you are trying to learn spanish while hearing portuguese everyday.

As for your earlier question, I speak spanish near-fluently, and I also speak portuguese at an intermediate level. I learned spanish by traveling in Spain (yay immersion!) - I thought I knew enough of the language before I went, and it took me less than a day to realize how wrong I was. As for portuguese, I am learning through a combination of language books and portuguese pen pals (people I met while traveling in Spain). I think both of these ways work very well.

 

[notepreocupes]

My advise would be to spend and extended amount of time in spanish speaking country (2-3+ months). I would recommend Andean countries (Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia etc) as there spanish is regarded as the most simple to learn. Argentina, Spain, and the Caribbean countries all strike me as challenging places to learn spanish. Having been in both South America and Mexico, I can say that Mexican spanish is a little more complex, but might be more pertinent for a doctor practicing in the US. But I don't see any other way of really mastering the language other than living in a spanish-speaking country, there is no substitute in my opinion.

 

[GoldShadow]

What other languages are useful in US medical settings? I've been thinking of taking up German, not necessarily because I think it'll be clinically relevant, but because it seems like a fun language. Between watching German soccer channels, listening to certain songs here and there (99 Luftballoons and Der Commisar anyone?) and playing games online with many German speakers, I've decided I want to know what they're all saying.

 

[Alfred E Newman]

Realistically, if you don't already speak Spanish, all you'll do is amuse yourself and learn a few phrases and build a very limited, basic vocabulary but you'll unlikely ever be fluent to the point where you could have any sort of sustained conversation unless you spent many years immersed in a Spanish-speaking country. Should have learned those foreign languages between the age 0-5.

 

[Caesar]

What other languages are useful in US medical settings? I've been thinking of taking up German, not necessarily because I think it'll be clinically relevant, but because it seems like a fun language. Between watching German soccer channels, listening to certain songs here and there (99 Luftballoons and Der Commisar anyone?) and playing games online with many German speakers, I've decided I want to know what they're all saying.

German is easy. Oh and they have Fussball channels, not soccer. 🙂

 

[thesecretgarden]

You could try downloading Spanish lessons from http://spanishpod.com/ and listen to them when you're in the car or walking to class, etc. I used to listen to them on the way to work. They have different levels: Newbie, Elementary, Intermediate, Advanced. While they're no substitute for being fully immersed in a Spanish-speaking environment, you could use it as a way to brush up on your Spanish before you study abroad.

 

[RUc10]

Thanks everybody. Anyone ever study or know somebody that has studied abroad in either Mexico or Costa Rica? My school offers Spain as well but it's like twice the price of my other two choices.

Realistically, if you don't already speak Spanish, all you'll do is amuse yourself and learn a few phrases and build a very limited, basic vocabulary but you'll unlikely ever be fluent to the point where you could have any sort of sustained conversation unless you spent many years immersed in a Spanish-speaking country. Should have learned those foreign languages between the age 0-5.

Not necessarily. I know a friend in high school that learned in his early teens from just being around spanish speaking people. I don't think it is impossible or even extremely different to learn another language, it's just that as an adult when do we really have time to dedicate ourselves to learning a new language in such a way that it will become a permanent part of us? I have read that it is much easier to learn two languages simultaneously as a child but that doesn't mean it can't be done at an older age.

 

[Karees]

I know people who've studied abroad in both Costa Rica and Mexico (I myself am headed to Madrid this fall - yay Castilian).

I think honestly, people kind of love wherever they end up studying, but I would say I've heard the most rave reviews of Costa Rica. It's apparently gorgeous - hopefully I'll make it there at some point.

Also, it's absolutely incorrect to say you can't become at least adequately conversational - to the point of not needing a translator - in any language later in life. You do have to have an immersion experience (at least several months to a year), but it doesn't take years. If you're forced to speak the language, you will pick it up.

So, I'd say your plan to study abroad is great, and it's true, no one gets fluent from learning in class, so just do your best to learn what you can, practice whenever you can, and know that you'll learn way more once you get abroad.

 

[Dawktah Rawkah]

Thanks everybody. Anyone ever study or know somebody that has studied abroad in either Mexico or Costa Rica? My school offers Spain as well but it's like twice the price of my other two choices.

You can't go wrong with either ... Costa Rica might be more your spot be if you are into surfing. Mexico (imho) has a richer history and might expose you to more "culture" ... both are great places worthy of spending some time. I have visited both and have had friends who studied abroad in both places.

Regardless where you end up, make sure you focus on learning spanish while you're there ... many folks make the mistake of spending their entire time abroad chilling w/ the other gringos speaking english and come home wondering why their spanish is only marginally better. if you want to achieve fluency in a few months (which is totally possible) you will need to make the effort to speak Spanish 99% of time ... that might mean doing things on your own and making some non-gringo friends, and not understanding much for a few weeks.

Also, another way to keep Spanish in your mente is to watch DVD's of movies/TV shows in Spanish. It helps if it's something you know very well already (ie Simpsons, Family Guy, The Big Lebowski etc). Doing something like this 30 minutes a day will help you a ton over time.

 

[Perrotfish]

I used these people: www.ecela.com, they were very effective. There are similar schools for Mexico and Costa Rica if that's where you'd prefer to study.

Rosetta stone did very little for me and High School Spanglish classes did nothing at all. I'd recommend saving your time and money until you have enough to go abroad, spend a semester studying Spanish. By the way studying Spanish does not = A spanish course abroad through your school & a culture of Latin America course course & a Chemistry course that your school lets you take there &... . I saw that approach fail for a few of the students that I lived with. Focus on the language if you go abroad.

If you do a semester of just Spanish you won't be 100% fluent, but you'll be able to hold a conversation and understand most of what you hear said to you, which will be fluent enough for your purposes.

Realistically, if you don't already speak Spanish, all you'll do is amuse yourself and learn a few phrases and build a very limited, basic vocabulary but you'll unlikely ever be fluent to the point where you could have any sort of sustained conversation unless you spent many years immersed in a Spanish-speaking country. Should have learned those foreign languages between the age 0-5

You get over this impression very quickly when you start meeting a lot of Europeans/South Americans that needed to get fluent in a foreign language, rather than just wanting to. Most of them have managed to get quite fluent in multiple languages without years, or even any, immersion. This doesn't mean it's easy, though. The main English Language schools in Peru are 3 year programs that involve showing up for nearly 3 hours of Spanish lessons 5 days a week. The students that complete the program, though, are 100% fluent. You often can't even tell that English wasn't their first language.

 

[ManualEvac]

Thanks. I've done a little translating myself for nurses. Though this is the U.S. it is quite annoying when I see higher ranked people in the hospital setting who have absolutely no clue what a patient is saying or how to relay a simple message such as asking the patient to sit up or if they need help getting to the bathroom.

Seriously😡 If you can cram 4 years worth of medical minutiae into your brilliant skull, you can memorize "donde esta el bano" (where's the tilde on this damn keyboard!).

Is there a better country to study abroad in to learn Spanish? Right now I was thinking either Mexico or Costa Rica but if there's another country that will make it easier I'll go there. I know the native language in Brazil is portugese but are there many spanish speaking people there? If I could go to brazil for a semester it will be the best couple of months of my life 😀

3 words. Mexico, Mexico, Mexico. Your U.S. spanish-speaking patients will be mostly northern Mexicans with a heavy use of slang and unconventional grammar, and the Spanish is more vernacular and difficult to learn as an outsider than Costa Rican spanish (which is very close to the pure castilian spanish of Spain), and there are many differences that would confuse you in your work. For example, Costa Ricans don't use "tu," but rather "vos " for familiar people and this still throws me off. Learning spanish in Brazil would be like learning arabic in Dearborne, Michigan. Interesting and possible, but probably not very practical.

 

[Alex0128]

I would like to be speaking spanish fluently before I get into medical school. I was learning at a pretty fast pace last year because I was around people that spoke spanish a lot but since I haven't been in that environment in a while everything is starting to fade away. I'm not sure whether I should just get my old spanish book from freshman year and go through every page and listen to everything that came with it or if I should get a program that is well known such as Rosetta Stone or something like that. My schedule is pretty packed for the next 3 semesters so I won't be able to take the intermediate Spanish course for a while and by that time I plan to be Studying Abroad in a Spanish speaking country anwyay... plus, how many people really take classes and come out fluent?

So has anybody learned Spanish when they've been a bit older and if so, how'd you do it?

This will be my senior year in undergrad coming up and I am a non-native spanish speaker. I started my freshmen year in high school, and have continued through now. I spent last summer in South America, and I learned more there than I did in all my years in a classroom. Learn as much as you can from the book, and then move to the country for 4-6 months. That's what I did and I came away fluent. I guarantee that if you live in a spanish-speaking country, and limit your english, you'll come away fluent as well.

AB

 

[ManualEvac]

What other languages are useful in US medical settings? I've been thinking of taking up German, not necessarily because I think it'll be clinically relevant, but because it seems like a fun language. Between watching German soccer channels, listening to certain songs here and there (99 Luftballoons and Der Commisar anyone?) and playing games online with many German speakers, I've decided I want to know what they're all saying.

German is awesome, but I was disappointed to find that when speaking with Germans, and even traveling in Germany, pretty much everyone speaks better English than you will ever speak German without moving there🙁

In the medical settings where I frequent, there seems to be a need for Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Korean and southeast Asian language speakers, as well as more and more Spanish. Sadly for polyglots, languages that are fun and easy to learn (German, French, Italian, and Portuguese) are usually spoken by people who speak proficient English as well. Still fun to learn a few words though and wow your patients and immigrant co-workers. IMO, Mandarin is actually pretty easy to speak compared to other non-western languages, but forget about writing and reading without a PhD.😱

 

[Flamen04]

I love knowing Portuguese... since I can pretty much also understand Spanish (and partly talk the language)

 

[RUc10]

Also, another way to keep Spanish in your mente is to watch DVD's of movies/TV shows in Spanish. It helps if it's something you know very well already (ie Simpsons, Family Guy, The Big Lebowski etc). Doing something like this 30 minutes a day will help you a ton over time.

I've tried this, left me utterly confused. I wish I had tivo, then I could just replay what I need as much as possible until I get it.

Seriously😡 If you can cram 4 years worth of medical minutiae into your brilliant skull, you can memorize "donde esta el bano" (where's the tilde on this damn keyboard!).

3 words. Mexico, Mexico, Mexico. Your U.S. spanish-speaking patients will be mostly northern Mexicans with a heavy use of slang and unconventional grammar, and the Spanish is more vernacular and difficult to learn as an outsider than Costa Rican spanish (which is very close to the pure castilian spanish of Spain), and there are many differences that would confuse you in your work. For example, Costa Ricans don't use "tu," but rather "vos " for familiar people and this still throws me off. Learning spanish in Brazil would be like learning arabic in Dearborne, Michigan. Interesting and possible, but probably not very practical.

lol you're telling me. Yea I wanted to get involved with something that will be the closest to the spanish that is spoken by people I'll come into contact with here. I was assuming Mexico would be the best bet but when I think about it whenever I ask some one where they're from it's always from a different country... Peurto rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic... now that I think about it I've never met anybody that said they were Mexican. I guess it depends what part of the U.S. you're from. I'd assume studying in Mexico would help a lot more if you plan on working in Texas or surrounding areas.

I used these people: www.ecela.com, they were very effective. There are similar schools for Mexico and Costa Rica if that's where you'd prefer to study.

Rosetta stone did very little for me and High School Spanglish classes did nothing at all. I'd recommend saving your time and money until you have enough to go abroad, spend a semester studying Spanish. By the way studying Spanish does not = A spanish course abroad through your school & a culture of Latin America course course & a Chemistry course that your school lets you take there &... . I saw that approach fail for a few of the students that I lived with. Focus on the language if you go abroad.

Thanks, I appreciate it.

 

[Thespian666]

Side note:

In Costa Rica i wonder if they conjugate Vos like Tú because according to my Guatemalan gf, in Guatemala they do; making it alot easier than one would think. Not to mention, you can't go wrong with "usted."

 

[Frunkey]

En Argentina, se usan "vos" en cambio de "tú" tambien...

Vivan los gringos!

 

[175961]

En Argentina, se usan "vos" en cambio de "tú" tambien...

Vivan los gringos!

but it makes life so much easier when trying to use commands. you dont have to remember anything....just chop off the last letter and youre good.

come la comida!!! cambia tu ropa ahora!!! vos, veni!!!! vos, sali de aqui, ahora!!! thats what the bolivians did at least, but they had some dang funny spanish to begin with. where did vos originate, I knew at one time but I forgot

 

[montessori2md]

To the OP: dude, calm down : ) Going to med school is not the end of all else (I hope). you could go learn Spanish the summer after your M1 year or something.

Get a hispanic girlfriend/boyfriend, you can "multitask".

I studied abroad in both Mx and Spain, and both were helpful in different ways. Mexico is certainly more affordable, and the vocab you learn will be more applicable to daily life -my language center in Cuernavaca offered extra seminars in medical Spanish, and there were several non-college students who were there on vacation taking those with us. Added bonus was info about health care in Mx, and learning how to read the labels at the farmacias.

For me, I felt much more at home and part of daily life in Spain, because I looked basically like everyone else, and it was after my trip to Mx and pre 9/11, so I could speak the language pretty well and there was basically zero anti-American sentiment. Men were also generally lower key in Spain compared to Mx, which I know is just a cultural thing, but it was nice to go out at night without being hissed at. That said, I know there were students in my Mx group who absolutely made close friends while there.

If you go overseas, STAY AWAY FROM THE GRINGOS. My roommate and I made a pact to speak as little English as possible together. It's not immersion if you're listening to Beyonce on your ipod and talking to the 20 other kids from your school.

 

[cyclophane21]

Is speaking spanish really THAT important in the admissions process to med. school?

 

[RUc10]

To the OP: dude, calm down : ) Going to med school is not the end of all else (I hope). you could go learn Spanish the summer after your M1 year or something.

Get a hispanic girlfriend/boyfriend, you can "multitask".

Haha. Even if I wasn't going to apply to med school I wanted to learn spanish. I just think that I might as well get it over with now because when's the next time I'll have time... Plus, it might give me a little boost in the apps process 🙂 And ironically... my gf is spanish. Sadly, though she's peruvian and english is the second language of everyone else in her family, she's only fluent in english lol.

 

[veggieswirl]

My mother is a native speaker and her parents spoke spanish to me when i was younger, but i wasn't really fluent until i lost my car priviledges(i didn't do anything bad) and had to ride the bus in Southern California. So if you want to learn Spanish, ride the bus! It's a rarity if you hear people speaking english on the bus around here! Also... watch Telemundo!

 

[katieo]

En Argentina, se usan "vos" en cambio de "tú" tambien...

Vivan los gringos!

This screwed me when I tried to take AP spanish after learning the language in argentina... people thought I was an idiot for saying things like "me entendes" instead of "me entiendes".

Who changes stems anyway? Pft.

 

[Travisgee]

I decided a year and a half ago that I was going to teach myself Spanish. I now read and write fluently as well as converse. I'm completely self taught using books, the Internet, and speaking to anyone and everyone when I get the chance.
I'd love to talk shop with you, because I love the subject. Just send me a PM

 

[hasp]

Si. I am one of those hilariously out of place spanish-talking gringos you may hear around the hospitals and clinics of urban America.

Here's how you do it as an adult...

1) Skip Rosetta Stone (a waste of $200), get a basic $25-30 book with CD and learn the very basics while listening to native pronunciation. I like the Teach Yourself series best.

2) Get a tutor or do an immersion class in Mexico (or the poor part of any US metropolis). Mexican spanish is the most practical in medical settings, although not very highly regarded among international spanish speakers.

3) Get a job or volunteer in a medical settings with lots of spanish-speaking patients and at least one native speaker who works there. Talk to this person in spanish as much as possible, ask questions, clarify translations, and have a medical spanish book on hand while carefully beginning to punch up your work with patients with spanglish.

4) Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Don't worry...you will be laughed at openly and often , but your efforts are appreciated by staff and patients, and will probably serve you pretty well within 6 months of solid practice.

PS - The best part of learning a language is finding out how badly and inaccurately people's relatives have been translating for you in the past. You will probably save someone's life someday by getting and giving info first hand, especially in spanish. Buena suerte.

I learned when I was 40, would not have been possible if I had not relocated to Honduras.

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]For me there is nothing as effective as living in the environment be it as a home-stay or with a program that focuses on teaching Medical Spanish. Your level of interaction and satisfaction in dealing competently with Latino patients and their families is the reward for the time and expense of spending time in a Spanish healthcare setting.

BTW, # 3 is essential and # 4 sometimes takes a 'thick skin'... Con trabajo todo es posible.
.

 

[rmadell]

Realistically, if you don't already speak Spanish, all you'll do is amuse yourself and learn a few phrases and build a very limited, basic vocabulary but you'll unlikely ever be fluent to the point where you could have any sort of sustained conversation unless you spent many years immersed in a Spanish-speaking country. Should have learned those foreign languages between the age 0-5.

I don't think this is necessarily true...I took Spanish classes through high school, took 2 years off, and then decided to be a Spanish major in college. I have been to Spain and Argentina, but only for 6 weeks each, and I would consider myself fluent. I speak a little more slowly then native speakers, and sometimes I have to explain something, instead of using the actual word, because my vocabulary isn't as big as a native speaker, but I can hold a sustained conversation for as long as I need to....I have done interpreting in a medical setting as well as an educational setting, and I now teach a college level conversation class. You don't necessarily need to live in a Spanish speaking country for a really long time to become fluent if you already have extensive knowledge of the language...because at that point it is just putting it into practice.

My advice would be to take classes to the point where you aren't really learning the grammar anymore, and then spend some time in a Spanish speaking country...it doesn't have to be too too long though. Just make sure you are using the language while you are there! And then make some friends that speak the language and make sure to practice when you get back, or you will lose it.

 

[apumic]

OP, I studied abroad down in Mexico. There are plenty of locations down there with good programs. Find a university and do their program. Remember, though, that if you engage Americans (with whom you will be taking most of your classes), you are unlikely to learn much Spanish. The true learning is beyond the classroom. It occurs when at home w/ your host, when listening to a Spanish sermon, or when going on a roadtrip with a group of Mexican students for the weekend (and leaving all your American buddies behind). Speaking to other Americans (or non-native speakers) in Spanish is not sufficient beyond the beginning levels. (I.e., once you've learned all of your basic verb tenses and built a decent vocabulary -- typically somewhere around 3-4 semesters of college-level Spanish.) I ended up spending about $3000 total for my trip ($500 plane flight; $1400 for tuition, room, and board; and $1100 on eating out, clubbing, roadtrips, busfare, taxis, etc.).

One thing immersion taught me was creativity. In a Spanish class, everything is very well-defined. You say [this] when you mean [that]. There are rarely times in Spanish class in which you are at a loss of what to say (or at least in which you have never been taught what to say). Unfortunately, real life just isn't like that. When working at a medical clinic, for instance, I was translating for a pt who spoke no English and was helping the doc diagnose her abdominal pain. Well, after a few symptoms and some translation of her history, the doc wanted to know about her reproductive system. Now two things come to effect here: 1) IME, the Mexican culture (at least where I was) is definitely more modest than that of America, and 2) he was asking me to translate words I didn't know. (Anyone know what an ovary is in Spanish?! I mean, I know arms, legs, eyelashes, heart, lungs, stomach, etc., but ovaries?! It's ovarios, btw.) So in the moment, I had to figure out a way of asking whether she still had them. So I simply asked if she had her "feminine parts," which she instantly understood and said "No, no tengo mis ovarios." Bingo. A lot of immersion is really about learning to apply your Spanish and think on your feet. How do I say this using my limited vocabulary? (Near-fluent here but still learning for sure.) Pts will never fault you for your mistakes (as long as you don't pretend to know something and hurt them in the process). Asking them to repeat themselves is fine, as is working around your own limitations. We all have our limits, so a lot of this is learning to think creatively -- learning to problem solve -- as much as it is about learning the language itself.

As far as learning Spanish as an adult goes. Many experiments (technically, pseudo-experimental design) have shown that ability to learn a language decreases with respect to age. There is no argument there. Once beyond about age 4-6, the human brain no longer processes language in the same way (and actually assigns the second language a separate brain region, which limits its performance). Still, even past this critical period, one can learn a language. As one enters one's teens and heads toward adulthood, the process of learning a language gets increasingly more difficult, but many manage to learn to speak the language proficiently enough. What is key here is the difference in levels of fluency. That is, one is unlikely to attain truly native fluency at age 18-22. Instead, one is likely to get to a moderately conversational level but then hit a wall and never be able to attain full native-like fluency. OTOH, unless you're trying to get a job that requires full native fluency, making the kinds of mistakes that non-native fluent (or near-fluent/semi-fluent) speakers make probably isn't the end of the world. Studies have shown that these mistakes are generally simple usage issues, esp. those relating to article usage as well as some of the nuances of the vocabulary. Most of the time, it just makes you sound a little awkward but it doesn't ruin your understandability.